Fake AI Agent Automation Tool Scam — Promising one-click business automation, but defrauding users of fees

Who Gets Targeted

Victims are mostly small and medium-sized enterprise owners, entrepreneurs, and management personnel lacking technical knowledge in AI automation. Eager to improve operational efficiency and lower labor costs through low-priced AI Agents, they often overlook the verification of the product's technical implementation. A psychological desire for quick results, blind trust in new technologies, and a lack of ability to distinguish legitimate channels make them vulnerable to being lured into paying tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan in upfront fees via WeChat groups, industry forums, or social media.

骗局怎么运作

• Scammers first post promotional copy for a 'zero-code AI Agent automation platform' on social media and industry exchange groups, claiming that filling out a requirements form is all it takes to generate full-process automation with one click, accompanied by flashy product demo videos to catch attention.
• Victims click the link to enter a forged login page that mimics the UI style of a real SaaS product, and are prompted to fill in enterprise information and contact email. A payment pop-up then appears, stating that a platform usage fee of 50,000 yuan and a customized service fee of 20,000 yuan must be paid for activation.
• After the victim completes the payment, the scammers provide a seemingly functional 'Demo environment,' which is actually a pre-recorded demonstration video or a page that only displays static reports, claiming that the system is currently being deployed and will take another 3 to 5 days to complete.
• During the waiting period, scammers continuously pacify the victim through customer service chat tools, and induce them to make additional payments under the pretext that 'an exception occurred during system debugging, requiring an extra 10,000 yuan debugging fee' or 'an extra 30,000 yuan is needed to upgrade to the enterprise edition.'
• If the victim continues to press for answers or ceases communication, the scammers terminate the service under excuses such as technical failure or server attacks, delete all accounts and contact channels, and then disappear. The victim only discovers that all their money has been taken and the so-called AI Agent functionality does not exist at all.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Claims zero-code, one-click full-process automation generation, but fails to provide public technical documentation or source code links
• 🚩 Requires high upfront fees before signing a formal contract, with amounts far exceeding industry averages
• 🚩 Demo videos do not match the actual operation interface, or only pre-recorded demos can be viewed without live interactive demonstrations
• 🚩 Provided customer service personnel respond only through instant messaging tools and evade technical details in their wording
• 🚩 The company's official website lacks filing information, has a short domain registration time, and fails to display corporate qualifications

真实案例

• In March 2026, a startup in Shenzhen was pitched an 'AI Agent full-process automation platform' in a WeChat group. After paying 80,000 yuan, they only received a demonstration video, after which the other party deleted all contact information, resulting in a loss of 80,000 yuan. (Source: Project Home)
• In May 2026, a small or medium-sized manufacturing enterprise in Zhejiang contacted a person surnamed Jia who claimed to be an 'AI automation expert' via an industry forum, paying 50,000 yuan in platform fees and 20,000 yuan in customization fees. The system always showed as being deployed, and eventually the other party terminated the service on the grounds of a server attack, resulting in a total loss of 70,000 yuan for the enterprise. (Source: CN-SEC Chinese Network)
• In July 2026, an e-commerce company in Shanghai saw an advertisement for 'ChatGPT AgentForger automation tools' on social media. After paying 30,000 yuan, all they received was a page that could only display static reports. Subsequently, the other party demanded an additional 10,000 yuan on the grounds that vulnerabilities needed to be fixed, and eventually blocked the victim, resulting in a loss of 40,000 yuan. (Source: Information Security Knowledge Base)

Official Stance

• June 15, 2026: The Cyberspace Administration of China issued the 'Risk Warning on Preventing Fake AI Automation Tool Scams'
• July 2, 2026: The Cyber Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security issued a notice on the 'Warning on Cases of Utilizing Fake AI Agents to Induce Enterprise Payments'
• August 8, 2026: The Municipal Market Supervision Administration issued the 'Notice on Special Rectification to Combat Illegal AI SaaS Platforms'

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Before signing any payment agreement, be sure to verify corporate qualifications and filing information, and prioritize SaaS platforms that have already been filed with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
• ✅ Request the other party to provide a live-demonstrable workflow or source code review. Stay vigilant if only screen recordings or static reports can be provided
• ✅ Sign a formal contract and agree on phased payments. The initial payment should not exceed 30% of the total cost, and subsequent payments should only be made after functionality acceptance has passed
• ✅ If the other party requests additional debugging fees or upgrade fees, verify the necessity through a third-party technical evaluation agency to avoid continuous additional expenses